The Fruitcake Special and Other Stories

Modern, original fiction for learners of English. Five entertaining stories about the power of discovery set in countries across the globe. A perfume made from some very unusual ingredients becomes more effective than expected. A remarkable change in a woman's life leaves her family to make a decision. The secret and danger of high intelligence are revealed to a university student. A teacher discovers a way of making time stand still. And a book tells a young manager more than he wants to know.

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Reviews

'What distinguishes the series from all the others is the zest and freshness of the text. Where the emphasis in other series is on plain and straightforward language, Cambridge English Reading texts typically use very modern expressions and the dialogue is faster moving. This has an impact on the quality of the audio cassettes, which make for very enjoyable listening.' David R. Hill, Survey Review: Readers, ELT Journal 'It was only a matter of time before a major ELT publisher set out to challenge the market dominance of Penguin Classics in the area of readers ... CUP have hit back admirably. With something for everyone in your classes, this series is well worth investing in. In fact, it's going to be a difficult act to follow by other publishers.' IATEFL Issues 'The series breaks new ground in two respects. The first is the light and informal style of writing. It is notoriously difficult to write fluent prose using restricted lexis and syntax. Part of the secret is to use word and grammar lists flexibly; but it requires flair and a good ear to produce prose and dialogue that read so well and give such a genuine flavour of modern idiom.' English Teaching Professional 'These were a very good read: exciting fast-moving stories at all levels, and a good mixture of subjects. Most touched on up-to-date themes, such as corruption, refugees, psychology, hunger, feminism, or ecology without being prosy, or moralising.' BaNina Vivanco, SATEFL Newsletter Vol 19 No 3 'This is a well presented, authentic looking series of readers that students should enjoy. They are graded into five levels, and the accompanying cassette will be useful, especially for pronunciation - audio versions are very popular with students.' Josephine Caruana, Network News, Issue 34